A Catholic priest in Nicaragua is facing eight years in jail after he shared a social media post allegedly critical of Daniel Ortega’s hard-left regime.
A Nicaraguan court has found Fr Oscar Benavidez Dávila guilty of “conspiracy” against the state.
According to the Nicaraguan media outlet <em>100% Noticias</em>, Judge Nancy Aguirre of the Tenth Criminal District Trial Court of Managua convicted the priest of “conspiracy to undermine national security and sovereignty” and “spreading fake news”.
The prosecution is now asking for a sentence of eight years in prison for the parish priest of Fr Benavidez of Holy Spirit Church in Mulukukú in the Diocese of Siuna.
The priest was arrested after Mass in mid-August, according to <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253372/nicaraguan-priest-found-guilty-sentenced-to-eight-years-in-prison-for-conspiracy">Catholic News Agency</a>, and charged the following month after he was held for 42 days in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ) in Managua, better known as El Chipote, a prison notorious for torturing political opponents of the regime.
At the time of his detention, the Diocese of Siuna issued a statement stating it didn’t know “the causes or reasons for his arrest and we hope that the authorities will keep us informed”.
The diocese also asked for prayers for Benavidez, whose “sole mission is and has been to announce the good news of Jesus Christ, who is the word of life and salvation for all.”
According to the priest’s defence, his “crime” was supposedly expressing his opinion in a social media post.
The Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa reported that the priest was transferred in October 2022 to the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System, a prison known as “La Modelo".
In total there are nine Nicaraguan priests that the dictatorship has accused of the crime of “conspiracy,” including the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez. At a January 10 hearing, the bishop’s case was referred to trial.
<em>(Photograph of Fr Oscar Benavidez Dávila courtesy of CNA)</em>
